Consolidating Capabilities and Securing Talent... Corporate R&D Centers Moving Northward Closer to Seoul

Companies' research and development (R&D) centers are moving closer to Seoul. This is because consolidating organizations within concentrated infrastructure and securing top talent can enhance synergy.

According to RSquare on the 20th, GS Construction relocated its R&D center from Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to Seocho-dong, Seoul, in October last year. They gathered R&D personnel, previously dispersed between the headquarters building in Jongno and the Yongin Technology Research Institute, into one location. Approximately 330 employees work at the Seocho-dong R&D center. GS Construction expected synergy through comprehensive research, securing excellent specialists, and close cooperation with domestic and international research institutions and field sites.

Hyundai Motor Company began moving some parts of its Namyang Research Center to the 2nd Pangyo Techno Valley at the end of last year. Pangyo was chosen as the brain center for transitioning to software-defined vehicles (SDV). The office of FortyTwoDot, a Hyundai Motor Group affiliate, is located here. Previously, FortyTwoDot also consolidated its dispersed organizations from Gangnam, Yangjae, Pangyo, and Yongin into the 2nd Pangyo location.

Traditional manufacturers' R&D centers are also moving northward. Typically, manufacturers place R&D centers within local factories. However, cases of relocating to the Seoul metropolitan area have been increasing recently. Camtronics, an electronic pharmaceutical manufacturing company, moved its research institutes from factories in Chungbuk and Yongin to Gwanggyo, Suwon. Hyundai Steel also relocated its office to Greats Pangyo near Pangyo Station on the Shinbundang Line early last year. HD Hyundai established a Global Research and Development Center (GPC) in Bundang-gu, Seongnam City, gathering 17 affiliates including Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Hyundai Genuine, and Hyundai Oilbank in one place.

An RSquare official said, "The biggest reason companies relocate R&D centers to the metropolitan area is the excellent infrastructure," adding, "Especially Pangyo is home to outstanding information technology (IT) companies and has good accessibility to Seoul, making communication with headquarters (Seoul office) easy." They continued, "IT-specialized talents, such as those in artificial intelligence (AI), are concentrated in the metropolitan area," and added, "Large corporations based on traditional manufacturing are actively investing in new IT businesses, so proximity to Seoul is essential to attract talent."